To Death, of His Lady

Dante Gabriel Rossetti

General Description

Date: 1869
Rhyme: a4b4b4a4a 4b4c1a4b 4b4a4c1
Meter: iambic
Genre: rondeau

Bibliography

◦ Baum, Poems Ballads and Sonnets. 177

◦ Gregory, Life and Works of Dante Gabriel Rossetti II. 124

◦ Lange, “Swinburne und Rossetti” (1977), 17-30

◦ Sharp, DGR: A Record and a Study. 304-305

Scholarly Commentary

Introduction

This is the second of DGR's three translations from Villon that he included in his 1870 Poems. See the general commentary for all three translations.

Textual History: Composition

According to WMR ( 1911 ) the translation was made in 1869; if so, it must have been executed by August, since it appears in the Penkill Proofs, the first of the prepublication texts DGR prepared for the eventual publication of his 1870 Poems. The Troxell Collection at Princeton has a fair copy manuscript of the poem, and another fair copy resides in the library of Eton College.

The latter manuscript was clearly included as part of a letter DGR wrote, apparently to his publisher in 1869. Only the last part of the letter accompanies the manuscript text of the poem. The evidence suggests that DGR wrote the letter in August 1869, trying to get the poem printed in the first proofs he had called for, and one may surmise that the poem was written at that time as well.

Printing History

First printed in August 1869 in the Penkill Proofs, the first of the prepublication texts DGR prepared for the eventual publication of his 1870 Poems. It appeared in the latter.

Translation

DGR is translating Villon's Le Testament 978-989 . Of the three translations, Baum observes that DGR “is closest to the original in the rondeau, though he there introduces a different image in the last line” (see Poems, Ballads, and Sonnets 177n ).

Electronic Archive Edition: 1
Source File: 39-1869.raw.xml